How women can work better with their financial adviser – and red flags to look out for
Whether you’re navigating a career break, planning for retirement or trying to prioritise your spending, your relationship with your financial adviser matters. In the second instalment of this CNA Women money series, we explore how women can work better with their adviser – and the red flags to watch out for.
A good financial adviser doesn’t just give you smart advice about your wealth, he or she has a good relationship with you too. (Photo: iStock/nortonrsx)
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The world of finance can be intimidating but being financially literate helps you understand how money works and how it can be used to future-proof your life. That’s where having a financial adviser can come in useful.
“The financial adviser’s most vital role is to cut through all the fuss and provide a clear and concise perspective,” said Lisa Eng, a senior consultant with Financial Alliance, an independent financial advisory company.
Think of your financial adviser as “your strategic partner in navigating life’s financial decisions”, said Valerie Kok, a partner with St James’s Place, a wealth management company.
The two experts added that everyone, from working women to stay-at-home mothers can benefit from having one.
According to Kok, an adviser can help you define your financial security, structure your wealth around your goals, and recommend solutions and plans to see you through different life stages.
“The best advisers can also act as behavioural coaches, helping clients stay calm during volatile markets and make decisions aligned with their long-term objectives rather than emotions,” she added.
Beyond creating plans to help you meet financial goals like retirement, buying a home or making investment decisions, there’s more your adviser can help you with:
1. TAILORING AN INSURANCE PLAN FOR YOU
We’re not talking about the usual straightforward life or health insurance plans.
A good adviser can help you source for specific policies tailored to your individual needs and more importantly, financial capacity, so you don’t end up overpaying for generic plans, said Eng.
2. BEING YOUR FINANCIAL MARRIAGE COUNSELLOR
As money is often one of the main causes of strife at home, your adviser can serve as a neutral, respected mediator between you and your spouse, to help you both clarify differing goals and find common ground on spending and saving priorities, said Eng.
3. PLANNING YOUR SABBATICAL FINANCES
With burnout being real these days and taking a sabbatical becoming more common, your adviser can help you plan your finances to tide you over during your work break – especially if you’re taking unpaid leave for it.
Through a holistic financial assessment of your current income, expenses, assets and debts, your adviser can create a detailed budget and cash flow model to help you avoid financial stress, and plan for potential unexpected costs during your sabbatical or even career transition, Kok explained.
In addition, your adviser can also help you define and prioritise new financial goals related to your job transition, including building a dedicated “sabbatical” fund while setting realistic timelines to help you achieve them.
4. ASSISTING WITH WEALTH AND BUSINESS TRANSFERS
A good adviser can help organise essential documents such as insurance plans, wills, and even trusts and beneficiaries to help create a clear, organised record, said Eng.
Having such critical paperwork organised well allows you to act quickly in times of emergency.
This may involve reviewing your finances in detail and working with relevant professionals to put the right legal and financial structures in place.
For instance, when it comes to intergenerational wealth transfers, the adviser can help families think through how assets are passed on, coordinating with lawyers or tax specialists, and guiding conversations to prevent disputes later on.
Likewise, when it comes to estate planning, the adviser can work with estate attorneys to ensure that wills and estate plans align with the family’s wishes to manage transfer of assets and minimise potential conflicts or legal challenges.
If you think this only applies to the wealthy, think again. It’s not unheard of to read about siblings taking one another to court over the sale of their late parents’ Housing Development Board flat simply because they could not agree on the sale process.
However, Kok emphasised that advisers do not replace proper legal, tax or accounting advice – their role is to collaborate with these experts to ensure a smoother and stress-free transition for the family.
HOW TO SPOT THE RED FLAGS
“Finding the right adviser is like finding the right doctor – the relationship should make you feel safe, understood and supported,” said Valerie Kok, a partner with St James’sPlace.
This means if you’re not comfortable with your current adviser, it’s perfectly fine to find another. Here are the red flags to look out for:
Having a poor attitude: Instead of listening to your needs, they criticise, condemn or complain about your decisions. According to Lisa Eng, a senior consultant at Financial Alliance, if your adviser speaks condescendingly about your past choices or criticises other professionals, they are failing the most basic test of human relations. “You need an ally, not a judge,” she said.
Being ill-prepared or prone to ghosting: If they show up at meetings without reviewing your file or continually postpone scheduled reviews, they are showing a distinct lack of sincere interest in your financial well-being, said Eng.
Pressuring you to make decisions: When your adviser pressures you to sign paperwork immediately, discourages you from seeking a second opinion or even pushes investments that generate high commissions for them but confuse you, it’s time to politely bid them farewell.
It’s important to remember that your financial life is about your goals, not about your adviser’s sales quotas, said Eng.
Ultimately, like any relationship, your relationship with your adviser must be built on trust and needs to be constantly nourished. “When the trust is eroded, it is time to move on,” Eng added.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP
When it comes to their financial journey, women embark on it very differently from men, said both Eng and Kok.
“Women often approach finances from a relational, values-driven angle – they want to understand why something matters before deciding what to invest in,” said Kok.
Thus, it is important to build a strong relationship with your adviser to achieve your financial goals. And for women, it’s all in the details.
Compared with men who tend to focus on the macro when it comes to financial planning, such as benchmark returns and overall portfolio performance, women tend to look at the micro, which is “rooted in our essential need for security and emotional preparedness”, said Eng.
This includes aspects like immediate cash flow and insurance payouts, as well as details of any trust distribution and the security implications.
HOW TO WORK WELL WITH YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISER
For peace of mind, meeting your advisor regularly is key. “Regular reviews ensure that your plan stays relevant,” said Kok.
You shouldn’t be meeting your adviser often just to show that you’re being proactive about your finances.
“Constantly badgering your adviser or demanding daily updates is simply an expression of worry and lack of faith,” said Eng.
An annual review for proactive check-ins, plus a critical event meeting if you have any changes that might warrant an update to your financial plans, such as job changes, inheritance or buying a new property, can strike a good balance, said Eng.
The key is to maintain an open line of communication that covers not only in-person meetings, but also for ongoing dialogues where needed.
At the same time, just as you would expect your adviser to come prepared to your annual review, you should also do some prep work to ensure the meeting is productive.
For first-time meetings, bring documents such as current insurance plans, investment portfolio, CPF statement and mortgage documents, if any.
But more importantly, to better manage your financial journey, instead of telling your adviser that you want to obtain more money, say, “I want to retire at 60 and travel across Europe for three years” or “I want to be able to send my children to university in the UK in 10 years”.
By quantifying your financial goals, both short- and long-term ones, and incorporating a timeline, your adviser can better tailor goal-driven solutions to help you along the journey, said Eng.
She also advised women to focus on deviations and next steps at these regular check-ins.
And don’t forget to review the actionable items from your previous meeting so you can write down any questions, organised according to importance, beforehand to get clarification and answers if you’re still unsure.
This shows your adviser that you value their time and are ready for the next level of advice, added Eng.
CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.
